


Decisions Made by a Few

by Merfilly



Series: A New Order [5]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Palpatine is going to lose it, seriously lose it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 16:20:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7322209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Scenes from the end of the Coruscant Invasion</p>
            </blockquote>





	Decisions Made by a Few

What was he going to do? He had been on the verge of victory. The Jedi were supposed to have failed already; he should be on the ship above, waiting for rescue as the Order called in their best. He would have been rid of Dooku, gained his true Apprentice, and be ready to execute the Jedi.

Instead, he was missing his communication equipment, and still in the company of two very alien members of that hated Order.

And General Grievous had yet to reach him. Had that monstrosity of a Jedi male actually managed to defeat the cybernetic warrior?

As if in answer, the bunker they had finally reached opened, and in walked that Jedi and one of the clones.

Oh, it was going to feel so good to see the product of his deviousness be turned against the foul Jedi. Palpatine would enjoy every single betrayal and death on a visceral level.

`~`~`~`~`

Dooku prowled the _Invisible Hand_ , waiting for the result of the plan. The Force felt… opaque. Grievous was not checking in. Sidious had made no contact.

And then the announcement came that two full Fleets had jumped into the outer range of sensors, with possible contact on a third from the other side of the planet ahead.

"Withdraw all forces," he heard himself say, motivated by the instinct of tactical knowledge and the way the Force was being difficult to harness. Sidious would have to recalculate this; Dooku was not going to lose the assets he currently had to this sudden reinforcement.

What he failed to count on, though, was that these Fleets were more than willing to pursue, destroying a large part of his own ships before the _Invisible Hand_ and one other of the capital ships was able to reach hyperspace, leaving countless small craft and droids behind to be cleaned up by the Republic.

`~`~`~`~`

The droids on the surface were mopped up with brutal efficiency by the Coruscant Guard, all of whom were more than eager to have the Chancellor back in their keeping, and few of whom had been involved in saving the Senators that had been pinned down in one of the battles.

That, and certain other little things, kept making Master Shaak Ti twitch. She had let Vokara Che see to her injuries, but refused to stay in medical, making her way instead to the quarters of her long-time friend, Plo Koon. That Master Windu had been somewhat incapacitated by a blinding migraine near the end of the battle, and Yoda had immediately gone to meditate indicated that some threshold of the War had been passed.

She could only hope the program to protect all of her sons was proceeding swiftly enough to save them, and to save the Jedi, both in the Order and within their small circle of change. Soon, she would see if she could reach out to Djinn Altis. While he had brought his people back under the umbrella of the Order, she knew he could not possibly be happy with it as it stood, and would take his people away again if and when the War ended.

She would prefer to have their backing in bringing change to the Order as a whole, so that all of her ties were given more freedom, not just the ones she and Plo had vetted in their cadre.

She did not hesitate at Plo's chamber, long since having the code to enter. She did so, and was quiet about it, a fact that was immediately useful. Wolffe was sitting on the chaise, his _buy'ce_ and armor both piled neatly beside it with Plo's head resting on his thigh as the Master slept. Wolffe's glare eased some at seeing Shaak, who silently sealed the door again and moved to take the opposite couch. If Plo was exhausted enough to rest with much to be determined even yet, then she would sleep as well, knowing Wolffe would protect them should danger somehow breach the Temple.

`~`~`~`~`

Ahsoka's eyes snapped open as she was attempting, for the fifth time since Wolffe's message went out, to meditate and find some form of calm within her. This time, though, she'd seen something, brothers wearing red, brothers killing other brothers… and the fall of Jedi trying to protect their own.

"It can't happen," she muttered, before standing up. She knew the lines on the armor too well. She'd been haunted by it in the past, and almost set her vision aside as false. Of course her subconscious would focus on the Coruscant Guard as trouble, after the attempt to hunt her to death.

But this was more than a replay of those desperate times. This was a danger within the Vod'e. This was everything they hoped to avoid, and she felt too young, too small for a long moment to even begin to know how to keep it from happening.

"Skyguy, visions are supposed to be your talent," she grumbled, recalling how wrong she had interpreted her first few. Still, she **knew** she was right about the threat. She just couldn't quite see the time behind this one. Right now, she needed her current command squad. Trawler, Nails, and Oddjob had been handling duties aptly between them; she hoped they were as proficient in handling actual covert missions.

`~`~`~`~`

Bly, Cody, and Rex watched as their Jedi plotted the course of the next battle, standing somewhat easily together, feeling the energy that radiated between the trio infecting them.

"Is it just me, or are our generals more… calm about life?" Cody finally asked, having decided he would take the 212th straight up the middle, and give the 501st the distraction they would need to flank.

Bly, working with Jag, would take the skies when the time came to attack. At Cody's words, he just smiled, sharp and knowing. After all, he'd reached his understanding with his General sometime before everything changed, before they'd cut into his skull to get the chip out. He still refused to believe he would ever have turned on her, or even Kit, who was his as well, if not in his chain of command.

"There's hope," Rex said. "A true hope that they will end this, for us all, and be able to breathe again. Nor will they leave us in chains, in any way. That, seeing us free, is the only battle they actually want, and it's getting closer, they think."

"Then let's stay alive to see that day," Bly said, before the Jedi broke up to come back to them and prepare.


End file.
